Lazy Eye

Today marks the birthday of Gerry Killkerry, who rose to prominence in the early sixties as a sports commentator for the BBC. It was a job he very nearly didn't get, due to a bizarre medical condition that he had suffered with since birth. Gerry was born with a lazy eye - not an uncommon complaint, and one that is unusually easily corrected, but in the young Gerry's case it was rather more severe. His left eye was so lazy that it was almost five minutes behind the other one, meaning that he was constantly distracted by events that had happened some time ago. For example, his schooling suffered, since for the first five minutes of every class he would just sit staring at the door, waiting for himself to come in. In later life, many of the things we take for granted were impossible for him - driving, for example, or watching a movie.

And he was hopeless at sports, even though football, tennis and rugby were his main passions. It was his love of sport that prompted him to apply to the BBC. He knew he didn't stand much of a chance, and his application would certainly have ended up in the bin, had it not been for the visionary young producer who recognised the potential of having a sports reporter with a built-in action replay.